Him and Her
by Meepy
Summary: He was never good with crying girls, but for her, he'll put in the effort. — Sasayan, Natsume


**A/N:**

Have some more SasaNatsu, world.

I started writing this and then it's like OH GOD MY _FAVOURITE AUTHORS_ ARE WRITING THEM NOW, AND SO WONDERFULLY.

Excuse me as I cry over how bad this is compared to theirs ok.

Spoilers up to ch.34.

* * *

It all starts with a chicken. With a rooster. With Nagoya—

Sasayan doesn't know Yoshida Haru well. He doesn't know him at all, actually. After all, he never showed up to class during middle school. He's pretty sure he's heard all of the rumours about Yoshida: if you even look at him, he will beat you up; he's the leader of his own gang; he's_ killed_ someone before; and he doesn't look both ways before crossing the street, completely disregarding the colour of the traffic lights (though Sasayan doesn't understand why people are gossiping about jaywalking in the first place).

Still, rumours are rumours.

And he doesn't judge people based on rumours.

To his surprise, Yoshida finally begins to come to class. He's slightly impressed that this Mizutani girl is able to get him to attend high school on a regular basis.

Yoshida is strange, yes, but not crazy, he knows. Because, though they never really talked in middle school, he knows that he's a decent guy, at the very least.

At the very least, he owes him one.

Thus, when Yoshida shows up to class one day in high school, a rooster (_h-he seemed lonely_, he says; _what the_ _hell_, others say) literally bursting out of him, he offers to take care of it.

Unfortunately for him, his cat is afraid of Nagoya (that's what he named him, and Yoshida seems to be fine with it), so he has to bring it back to school. Somehow, they receive permission to leave Nagoya on school grounds.

This leads to that, a discussion about creating a coop arises, and the next thing he knows, they've arranged a group outing to go buy supplies.

They, as in himself, Yoshida, Mizutani and another girl named Natsume. He doesn't know any of them very well, but he doesn't mind; he'd like to get to know them better. He quickly learns that they are acquainted with very strange people, but – aren't they all strange?

The day comes to a close and the coop is completed, special thanks to some students from Kaimei. He bids farewell to Yoshida and Mizutani, saying, "See you at school!"

Natsume starts walking next to him, mumbling that she's going the same way. He smiles at her. Her lips form a thin line in return.

"So, uh, hey, why'd we name him Nagoya anyway?" she asks.

"What, you're wondering that now? You're so slow," he comments.

She shoots him a glare. "_Huuuuh_. Well, I don't get it. Nagoya is like, some huge city?"

He hears the inflection at the end. Hears how unsure she is.

"Yeah, a large city in the central area of Japan," he answers.

She stares at him. "Smarty-pants."

He chuckles before repeating, "_Nagoya_. Do you get it?"

"Central Japan, huh," she echoes.

It's not that hard, he thinks. If anyone knows anything about Nagoya, it's their Nagoya cochin chicken. So it's incredibly obvious.

"A large city, huh."

He can practically hear the gears in her head turning.

She gasps as something in her mind clicks, taking a large step away from him. "Y-You're gross! _Sick mind!_" she accuses.

He tries to contain himself, but it's too difficult; he bursts out laughing and clutches his stomach. Of everything about Nagoya, she comes to _that_ conclusion?

"W-What? Why are you laughing?" she shouts, face red.

"If I was going for _that_," he explains in between fits of laughter, "I would've named him Tokyo."

"O-Oh. Then, what?" she stammers, face red because of embarrassment now.

"Nagoya cochin chicken?" he offers. He might as well give it to her; he's had his share of fun now.

She blinks. "Ah. _Oh_. Geez! You could've just told me from the beginning, y'know?!"

He smiles. "Yeah, I could've."

She pouts.

"Ah." He stops, turning his head to the left. "I almost missed my street! Well, I gotta go then."

"See you later!" he says, waving his hand.

She pauses for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, see you."

In retrospect, Nagoya is the perfect name.

* * *

He asks them all to come on his fishing trip with the batting centre's manager. How could he not, after all? And who would've thought that he was related to Yoshida?

It doesn't turn out to be the best day for him, however.

His fish cooler is surprisingly empty.

When he sees them again at school, he informs the group that the photographs from the trip have been processed. He holds the envelope up for them to see. Her eyes light up and she eagerly grabs it from him, quickly flipping through the photos.

After a swift inspection, she exclaims, "W-Why are they all pictures of me in my swimsuit?"

He blinks. "Oh, are they? I hadn't noticed."

"Sasayan!" She pouts as she holds several up for him to see, trying to emphasize her point. "Seriously!"

"No reason, really," he laughs.

She's incredibly photogenic, he thinks, but doesn't say.

* * *

He spots her from the corner of his eyes, making her way to the front of the school. "Hey, Natsume!" he greets, turning away from his friends to wave at her. He hears them change their conversation topic to girls, "isn't she cute?" "she's kinda cold, don't you think?" girls. Or maybe one girl in particular.

"Oh, hi, Sasayan!" she replies with a bright smile, returning his wave. "See you in class!"

He watches as she rounds the corner, most likely seeking out either Mizutani or Yoshida. He turns back to his pals when he is no longer able to see her.

* * *

He walks into the fast food restaurant and immediately sees Natsume a couple of tables away, a few textbooks laid out in front of her. Rather than reading them, she is typing away on her laptop. He sighs; this is why she doesn't test well. As he approaches the table, he asks, "Yoshida and Mizutani aren't here yet, huh?"

She seems to jump a little in her seat at the sound of his voice. "Oh, Sasayan! No, it's just me," she answers.

"Geez, you guys are so slow!" she complains, puffing out her cheeks.

He chuckles as he sits down across from her. "Sorry, sorry. Just got a little held up."

"I wonder what's taking them so long, though?" he murmurs, pulling a notebook, textbook and pencil case out from his backpack. She closes her laptop and puts it away in turn.

"I bet they're coming right now! Together!" she states confidently as she opens up her math textbook. "They're always together, y'know? They're practically a couple. They gotta make it official!"

"Huh, I guess they're kinda suited for each other?" He takes a mechanical pencil out of his case and turns to a page in his history textbook.

"Kinda? They're perfect for each other!" she huffs. "So they should just start dating already!"

"That means it'd just be me and you," he points out as he absentmindedly twirls his pencil around his fingers.

She seems slightly taken aback by his comment. "W-What? No! Mitty would never leave me behind!" she cries.

"Are you sure? She's pretty cold though, don't ya' think?"

"M-Mitty is the nicest person ever! Sure, she doesn't really show it all of the time, but I know she cares." She slams her hand on the table in disapproval before continuing, "She's always there for Haru, and for me too! Well, sure, she's not here right now. . . But I bet her heart is!"

"Geez, I was just kidding." He laughs. "Look, I'll call Yoshida now and ask where they are."

"Oh." She pouts. "Well, that wasn't funny!"

"Sorry, sorry," he says, still smiling. She frowns at his insincere apology. Standing up, he makes his way out of the booth. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket, dials Yoshida's number and presses it against his ear as he waits. He sees her watching him intently. He taps on the table, indicating that she has work to do. She huffs in response, but obliges, turning her attention back to her math.

Not long after, Yoshida picks up and they exchange a few quick words. Hanging up, he informs her as he takes his seat, "Yoshida said he's at some sorta river."

She looks up from her work. "A river?" she echoes, puzzled.

"That's what he said." He shrugs. "C'mon, let's study."

"Mm."

He copies down the first question and writes down his answer after a moment's thought. He glances up from his work, wondering if she's doing fine by herself. Probably not.

She looks back at him with wide eyes.

He raises an eyebrow in confusion but quickly realizes that she's looking past him, rather than at him. He looks over his shoulder and spots a couple of girls their age, chatting amongst themselves, glancing at them suspiciously. "What's their problem?" he drawls.

He turns back and sees Natsume's watery eyes. She tries to hide them behind her textbook. "S-Sorry, sorry," she apologizes to him needlessly.

"Huh? What's wrong?" he asks, but stops when he hears a familiar voice call out.

"Oh, if it isn't Natsume?" She looks up at the sound of her name.

He feels slightly relieved to see Micchan. He was never good at dealing with crying girls; especially when he doesn't know why they are so upset. Girls are always too emotional, crying over some of the most mundane matters at times. He finds Natsume to be incredibly simple compared to other girls, though. Her one-track "Mitty" mind, her lack of book smarts, her fascination with the online world and how eager she is to hang out in a group outside of school—

He watches as she wipes away tears from her eyes.

He may have to reassess her, however.

* * *

It's become increasingly obvious. After the school festival, he had a feeling. The incident at the restaurant only confirmed it. She is obviously, so obviously, falling in love with Micchan. He sees the way her eyes light up at the mere mention of his name, the blood that rushes to her cheeks whenever he's around.

It's so obvious.

_Micchan's pretty cool, huh. Even I thought he was cool back then_, he thinks as he sees her talking to him at the Christmas party. Well, he would hardly call it talking. It looks more like stammering as she quickly hurries past him, trying to hide her blushing face. Micchan watches her leave with raised eyebrows. He turns to Sasayan, puzzled.

"Natsume's acting strange, isn't she?" he observes.

"Somehow, I feel like I've already lost?" he murmurs in response. But what is it that he's vying for? It can't possibly be—

"Hm?" This time, Micchan's confused look is regarding him.

* * *

Thus, he's not surprised at all when his friend Yana gets completely rejected trying to confess to her. Her eyes are incredibly cold like ice and her words as sharp as a knife. He follows her outside the batting centre and apologizes for his friends' behaviours, though he doesn't really see any of them at fault. It's just how he is, just what he does.

"I hate it – I hate men; all they care about is themselves," she rants, "and I'm just left here in the dust. It's so – _they're_ so annoying. See, that's what's different about girls, y'know? Friendship between girls is special, an amazing bond! We're there for each other, no matter what! Anything is possible together!"

_Then, I'm annoying too? _The words are on the tip of his tongue but he bites them back.

She's the annoying one, he thinks, as she rambles on and on.

She continues, "And Shimoyanagi, he's always laughing like an idiot!"

"Yana never did anything to you, did he?" he interrupts because he's not going to just stand there and listen to her rag on his _friends_. She's incredibly closed-minded and it's annoying, so annoying.

She pauses, suddenly looking apologetic. "Yeah. . . Sorry, I've just been kinda irritated. Mitty's too busy studying, Haru seems kinda down lately and I can't talk to Micchan. . .," she trails off.

"Oh, it's because you like him, right?" he asks without thinking. Hm. Why did he do that?

She freezes, a look of complete shock gracing her features. "W-W-W-_What?!_ There's no way! Absolutely no way!" she refutes vehemently, frantically waving her arms around in what he guesses is supposed to be denial. "That's impossible! He's a guy, there's just _no_ way!"

"Really? You don't? I mean, you used to be fine talking with him, right? I just came to the conclusion myself, though," he says, though he sees those flushed cheeks and he knows he's right.

"_You're definitely wrong!_" she shouts.

All of the sudden, Yoshida shows up, as chipper as ever (perhaps even more so than usual). The topic gets dropped, hard; they fall silent as they awkwardly stare at their companion.

Yoshida gushes over an upcoming picnic with Mizutani and he is impressed, as usual, with how that girl is able to control Yoshida.

As the discussion about the picnic continues (somehow, it's become something they're all attending), he offhandedly says to her, "Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to give someone a chance."

She acts as though she didn't hear him.

* * *

He sees her making her way onto school grounds. He says a short goodbye to his friends and breaks his way out of the group. His legs are surprisingly quick as he walks towards her.

"Yo, Natsume," he greets.

She waves in return.

"Did you finish yesterday's homework?" she asks.

He nods. "Did you?" Though, he thinks he already knows the answer.

"Well, uhm, no," she replies honestly, fidgeting with her fingers. "But, I was doing it and then the strangest thing happened! Actually, it was pretty funny—"

They talk until they get to the classroom and have to take their seats.

* * *

He remembers how intensely she denied having any feelings for Micchan before. The next thing he knows, she's proclaiming her love for the older man with twice as much passion. He can't help but feel annoyed as he watches because—

Because—

Because, well, she lied to him.

"That was unexpected," he says to her as they exit the centre. She's smiling, genuinely smiling, despite the fact that Micchan had just rejected her. He offers her a bike ride home, but she declines, saying her bus is arriving soon.

"Ah, well, there's no point in giving up just when I just started, y'know?" she explains, giggling softly. He briefly notes that this is the first time he's seen her giggle like that. "I talked to Mitty and she says that falling in love is good! I mean – this is my first time feeling like this. And – and having someone cheer me on. I had no idea that liking someone could be so – _fun_."

He blinks. His mind briefly wanders to a certain fast food restaurant.

"I get you, yeah," he concurs, smiling. "I'll cheer you on too, then!"

"Really?" she exclaims, looking at him with wide, excited eyes. "Thank you!"

"If you give him a little push, don't you think he'll fall for you? I mean, manager's a pervert, after all," he observes, nodding his head.

"Huh, perverts will fall for you if you push them a little?"

"Yup! I hear he has a thing for high school girls, too," he adds.

"I don't know if I should feel happy or worried about that," she mumbles.

He chuckles in response. She quickly joins in.

When the laughter subsides, he reiterates, "So yeah, go for it, a hundred percent. And I'll support you, a hundred percent! 'Cause you'll probably regret it otherwise if you don't, yeah? In the end, it'd be better to know that you tried at least."

She nods along, murmuring, "Yeah, _yeah_."

He pauses as he thinks about what he's just said.

Noticing his hesitation, she asks, "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." He smiles reassuringly, shaking his head.

After all, everyone is a hypocrite.

* * *

"Geez, he definitely likes Mitty!" she complains to him. "He's getting in their way!"

He really doesn't see the problem in Yamaken having feelings for Mizutani. It's Mizutani's decision in the end, simple as that, and he tells her that. He feels himself getting irritated, however, that Natsume so easily writes Yamaken off as the bad guy just because, simply put, he's not Yoshida, and for some reason, Yoshida is the _only one_ (but feelings change, he knows).

But seeing as they're shopping for ingredients to create dinner for the entire gang at the private ski lodge, he tries to change the subject to the real matter at hand. Grabbing a package of curry, he says, "We should get this."

Of course, she decides to continue with the previous topic. "Who's side are you on, anyway?"

"Huh? What, no one's," he answers. "Besides, does Yoshida actually like Mizutani?"

"He's obviously in love with her!" she shouts.

"It seems a bit more like he's obsessed; he doesn't really _consider_ her, I guess. Yuuzan said once before that his brother's a coward, and I think he might be right," he explains.

The next thing he knows, she blows up.

The conversation ends with raised voices, everything becomes a blur and he's not even sure what they're arguing about; he just knows that at that very moment, he is peeved.

The childishness continues onto the next school day. She completely ignores him and he doesn't really understand why. He never understood why she got so upset at him in the first place.

He just doesn't understand her that well.

And even though it's not his fault, he feels like he should apologize. There's no sense in either of them holding this pointless grudge. But the words don't exactly come out right when he tries, because she does it again, criticizes his friends for no reason.

He has to defend his pals. He ends up saying that the reason why she finds herself alone so often is because of herself, and herself only. He's not surprised when she turns around and stomps off.

He watches as Yoshida hurries after her.

Now he really does feel bad and at least this time, he understands why she's mad at him. But maybe she understands him now, too.

It's not that he doesn't believe what he said, because he does. Just then was not the best time, he knows.

When he checks his text messages, he sees half an apology from Natsume. He stares at it for a couple of minutes before he decides.

It's good enough.

He doesn't want to be fighting anymore. After all, they're friends. He likes her.

He starts biking around the batting centre and waits.

"Yoshida!" he says when he sees the other boy return.

"Yo, Sasayan. You heading back now?" he asks.

He shakes his head. "No, I wasn't going—" He stops when he sees her step out from behind Yoshida. "I was thinking of making up with Natsume."

She looks up tentatively at him and curls some strands of hair around her index finger.

"Sorry," they say simultaneously.

They exchange small smiles.

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulder.

After a bit of small chat, the three say goodbye.

He gets on his bike, she takes a seat on the back, and he pedals.

The wheels turn.

* * *

"You know, we're always here, but you never play," he points out.

"Well, I can't play baseball," she answers simply. "Not a baseball maniac like you."

"Ha, funny," he laughs dryly.

"So, have you ever actually tried before?" he asks.

She shakes her head.

"Hey, let's play now," he suggests.

She pauses in thought before relenting, "Okay, fine."

He grins.

As they make their way into the batting range, he tries explaining some of the rules of baseball. She nods along, murmuring, "Uh-huh" every so often.

When inside, she picks up a metal bat and asks, "So I just need to hit the ball then, huh? Piece of cake!"

"Yeah, piece of cake," he comments as he watches her swing the baseball bat and completely miss the ball hurdling towards her. She tries a few more times, but to no avail.

He grabs the bat from her, ignoring her protests. "Here, you should hold it like this," he tells her, gripping the handle and aligning his middle knuckles. "And stand a little more relaxed; you can't swing fluidly if you're too tense."

Getting into position, he swings the bat and hits the baseball with ease.

She tries to hide how impressed she is (but it's written all over her face) as he hands the bat back to her.

"Try it."

She nods, fumbling with her hands a bit until her grip gets approval from him. She takes a deep breath as she tries to calm herself. Spreading her feet apart a bit, she holds the bat up. The entirety of her concentration is focused on the baseball shooting out towards her.

She swings.

A "ping" resonates as ball makes contact with bat.

"I-I did it!" she exclaims, her eyes lighting up. Dropping the bat, she points upwards in excitement. "Sasayan! Did you see that, Sasayan?"

It's hard not to smile at how overjoyed she is over such a simple thing. Abruptly, she throws her arms around his neck and pulls him into a hug. Almost as quickly as it happened, she releases him and starts to jump up and down in celebration, pumping her fists all the while.

For a second, he's stunned.

He quickly composes himself before laughing, "Ha, good job Natsume! Maybe next time it'll actually go more than a few metres."

She stops, directing her gaze to the ground in front of them. Like he said, the baseball is only a few metres' distance away from the base. She dramatically falls to her knees, raising her hands up in a "why" gesture. "But I like, totally hit a homerun!" she proclaims, bringing her arms down and crossing them under her chest.

Picking up the fallen baseball bat, he crouches down so that he's eye-level with her.

"Hey, we've got some time. You can still hit that homerun." He smiles, holding the bat out.

She stares at him for a moment before laughing as she grabs the bat.

* * *

Seventh inning, tied six-to-six.

He's up to the bat. And he's not nervous at all. He takes a deep, calming breath before getting into position. He eyes the pitcher carefully before flashing him a smirk. Rather than returning the taunt, the pitcher immediately winds up and whips the baseball towards him. He's fast to react; swinging his bat, he lands a clean hit on the projectile. It goes high, deep, almost a homerun.

Suddenly, he sees her face, beaming and ecstatic. Over the loud cheers of the enthusiastic crowd, her voice echoes in his mind.

_I-I did it! Sasayan! Did you see that, Sasayan? Sasayan! Sasayan!_ —

"—Sasayan! Sasayan! _Sasayan!_"

He hears his teammates shouting at him and he realizes that he needs to run. So he runs, as fast as he can. The centre fielder throws the baseball to the second baseman before he's able to make it.

As he makes his way to the dugout, he kicks at the dirt.

"Hey, it's all right!" one of his teammates reassures him, patting him on the back.

No, it's not.

Because he's absolutely certain now.

* * *

It's Valentine's day and he's slightly grateful that he doesn't receive any declarations of love. He'll have to reject them because, speaking from past experiences, going out with someone just because they like you isn't a very good reason.

When he heads to the batting range, he sees her huddled up outside, sullen.

He frowns as he listens to her talk about how lamely Micchan accepted her chocolates and her brilliant plan to lure him out and make him fall for her. He asks her if she'd like to bat with him but she swiftly declines before leaving.

When he enters the building, he greets Micchan with his trademark smile, but it hardly feels genuine. They exchange a few quick words before he says, "Manager, just tell her you don't like her. Clearly. Otherwise, you'll really hurt her."

"That's all I wanted to say," he finishes, turning away from the older man.

"Sasayan," he drawls, "that's what I call being a busybody."

Micchan smiles.

He can't see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but he supposes Micchan can see exactly what he's doing.

_Somehow, he's suddenly scary_, he thinks as he heads for the range.

* * *

It's not long after Valentine's day that he sees her at school, sulking to herself. He feels his stomach drop. Mizutani explains the situation to him, though he had a feeling. He feels guilty but he has no idea what to do.

Later, he pays another visit to the batting centre.

"Is it my fault?" he asks, because he sure feels like it is. He picks up one of the metal bats and swings at the air a few times. "From the beginning, I told her to try her best with you, manager. She listened to what I said."

"I wonder why I said that in the first place, though?" he murmurs.

"No, it's not your fault. It was what I intended to do since Valentine's day," Micchan replies.

"Ah, okay." He hits one more ball before putting his bat away. "I'll be going now, then."

There's a moment's pause before Micchan says, "Do your best, Sasayan."

"_That's _what I call being a busybody." He flashes him a grin, then heads for the exit.

The next day, she's in a much better mood, he notes. Still, he approaches her cautiously and hands her a juice box (banana juice). She seems slightly puzzled, but accepts it without question. Unwrapping the straw, she stabs at the carton.

"Feeling better?" he asks.

She nods, answering quietly, "Yeah, I talked with Mitty and Haru and. . . yeah."

"Sorry I wasn't there."

"It's fine."

"Sorry," he says again.

She raises an eyebrow as she takes a drink of the banana juice.

He smiles. "I'm just sorry."

She glances over at him, confused, but doesn't say anything else as she continues to sip on her juice.

Peaceful quietness envelopes the two.

"I was thinking, it'd be nice to get another chicken to keep Nagoya company," he says suddenly, breaking the silence.

She raises her head. "That'd be awesome!"

"Tokyo would be a good name, right?"

"_S-Sasayan!_"

He laughs, she pouts, and it feels like nothing has changed, though he knows that everything has.

* * *

It's the summer holidays and he can't help but feel excited. After all, what's there not to be excited about with no school? Natsume's new friend, Iyo, offers up her family's summer home for a group trip.

He can't help but smile at the excitement that fills her eyes when she hears those words. Some things really don't change.

To their surprise, the boys from Kaimei are there too. Some things _really_ don't change. As expected, the day is an eventful one. He laughs with Mabo, jokes with George, races with Yoshida and—

With her, he asks, "Do you still have feelings for the manager?"

He catches her off guard so badly that it takes a whole minute for her to completely process the question and sputter out a, "W-What? _No_. N-No, of course not. How could I – ? No. . ."

"I see," he replies simply and ends the conversation there.

On the last day of their group outing, they head to the shopping district. Almost immediately they split off into groups. Yoshida leaves with Mizutani, the Kaimei boys go off on their own and he's left with Natsume and Iyo. They decide to do a little shopping.

After an hour, they meet up at the centre of the square, next to a fountain.

Suddenly, Yoshida and Yamaken appear, sparring with each other within the fountain. They shout about something regarding Mizutani and Yoshida's brother. They're both clearly riled up but only Yoshida runs off in search of the girl.

"Is is really okay for you not to go?" he asks Yamaken.

"Why do I have to go?" he replies simply.

He sees a bit of himself in the blonde; sympathizes with him, even. But they're so different too; he finds himself disappointed in his response. Disappointed that though Mizutani chose Yoshida over him, he chooses not to be there for her.

Most of all, he sees that Yamaken can't even be a friend.

At the very least, he wants to be there for Natsume.

He said he'll support her, one hundred percent.

He never said only in her pursuit.

At the end of the group outing, she murmurs to him, "When we get back, I'm going to go see Micchan again."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," he agrees. She's been avoiding him since that day, he's noticed.

He wonders if it's all right for him to encourage her like this. After all, the last time he did—

After thinking about it for a little while, he decides that sometimes it's good to be a little selfish.

It takes over a week for her to actually muster up the courage to see Micchan.

She seems surprised to see him as she exits the batting centre. "Sasayan?" her voice comes out in a mere whisper. "You're here?"

"Yeah, I was worried," he replies after a slight hesitation.

"What, it's all okay now!" she informs him. "Micchan even told me to visit again!"

"I mean, like," she continues, her voice beginning to waver, "I already did my best, right?"

His mouth forms a thin line as he sees the tears forming in her eyes. He takes off his baseball cap and places it on her head, tipping it down so that it covers her watery eyes.

"Hey, let's go back, Natsume," he says gently.

He was never good at dealing with crying girls. But she's not like other girls. She pisses him off more than anyone, but she makes him smile more than anyone.

So, for her, he'll try—

"It'll be fine. Mizutani, Yoshida and I are all here for you," he reassures her.

He takes her hand into his. He doesn't look back to see how she reacts, because it doesn't matter. "It'll be fine, if we're all together."

But for now, it's just him and her.

Her grip on his hand tightens.

It has always been him and her.

He gently squeezes her fingers in return and briefly wonders if they will ever be "us."

* * *

**A/N:**

/insert getting together sometime in the future here.

Ch.35 made me d'aww, but I didn't really know how to fit it into this. This just turned out to be some sorta retelling, huh. But there are some original scenes so it's okay then, yeah?! ( Man, I am _horrible_. ) I wonder how annoying it was that this is so many small parts? For them, well, their relationship is _the little things_ anyway.

And yes, obligatory bad cock joke etc. ( I had to look it up, but I'm guessing the food/chicken breed is why he's named Nagoya. )

Also, I had no idea that being a busybody meant to be nosy until I google'd it. Learn something new every day.

Thanks for reading, hope it was okay and you enjoyed it!


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